Ginger's Birthday Bash 2018

Yes, it's that time of year again. The Garage seems to be becoming the regular venue for Ginger's Birthday Bash - if memory serves me correctly this was the first venue to house this popular event, although it has been at various other places over the years. This is probably my favourite venue for the event, although not entirely due to the building itself - which I am not so keen on these days. However, it is particularly easy for me to get to personally - and also has the major advantage of being only a couple of minutes's walk from a Wetherspoons as well as the station, which is even closer!

There is no support act as such as the whole evening is Ginger and friends on stage. Needless to say, I find myself in the aforementioned pub before the show - where fortunately I manage to discover the stage time at the venue - enabling me to stay in the pub till literally the last minute and avoid being ripped off by the venue's overpriced bar. As always, the show is sold out and the venue is rammed!

The evening's show started with a few (semi) acoustic numbers from Ginger's recent country flavoured album Ghost In The Tanglewood. Then as more musicians appear things gradually get louder. Share Ross from Vixen on bass, Denzel of the Ginger Wildheart Band on drums, and The Rev from the infamous Towers Of London - who has since played live with The Prodigy, been in The Howling, and more recently Ginger's power pop/punk side project Hey! Hello!.

With most of Hey! Hello" apart from singers and bassist in the house we get treated to some of that band's songs before things start to get heavier.

The guests are coming thick and fast, some more familiar than others, some for the first time at a Birthday Bash, and some repeat offenders. Making his Birthday Bash debut is punk legend Charlie Harper - still fronting UK Subs at 74 years old and showing no signs of slowing down!

Frank Turner appeared again - now becoming a Birthday Bash regular. Then came something a bit special - a reunion of a very early Wildhearts lineup - not since 1992 have Ginger, CJ, Danny, and Bam all played together. And to celebrate the event we get a bunch of very early pre-Earth Vs songs from the first 2 EPs 'Mondo Abimbo' and 'Don't Be Happy...'. This is the highlight of the night for many of us present. Then Bam handed over the drum stool to more recent Wildhearts drummer Ritch for a run though a bunch later classics from 'Earth Vs...' onwards through 'P.H.U.Q.' and 'Fishing For Luckies'.

Then towards the end of the show ex-Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe returned to the stage after 'Kicking Out The Jams motherfuckers' earlier in the evening. Michael has enjoyed a successful solo career, and Ginger even played guitar in his band for a while.

The show finished off with the almost inevitable Wildhearts classic 'I Wanna Go Where The People Go'. As always the atmosphere in the venue has been amazing and we have had a terrific evening's entertainment! See you again next year then?